During his evaluation of the European Court of Human Rights' (ECHR) final verdict about the headscarf ban in Turkish universities, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan brought attention to the fact that no universities elsewhere in Europe ban the headscarf.
In the lawsuit filed by Leyla Sahin and Zeynep Tekin in 1998, the ECHR upheld the Turkish government's ban on headscarves in the universities. The ECHR found that that the ban was not in violation of the 9th article of the European Human Rights Convention, which deals with the freedom of religion and thought.
Erdogan met with his party's provincial chairmen yesterday and commented on the ECHR's decision. Erdogan indicated that the ECHR used its right of judicial discretion. He added that how the decision will be met within the framework of current laws would become clear in the upcoming days.
The Prime Minister later acknowledged that his personal view differed and added, "I wonder how the implementation in many European countries will effect this decision. I would like to ask."